New Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne (L) hugs with former P.M. Rathnasiri Wikramanayake in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, April 21, 2010. Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne was sworn in here as the 20th prime minister of Sri Lanka Wednesday evening
The general strongly denies corruption allegations
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse (L) administers the oath of office to new Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne (R) in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, April 21, 2010. Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne was sworn in here as the 20th prime minister of Sri Lanka Wednesday evening
Defeated Sri Lankan presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka has been released from detention to appear in the opening session of parliament.
The general, who is being court martialled, called for the "rule of law" in an attack on his arch-rival, President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
His comments were his first remarks in public since his detention on 8 February on corruption charges.
He travelled under escort from military custody to take up his seat.
Gen Fonseka fell out with the president after the defeat of Tamil Tigers rebels last May.
He was beaten by Mr Rajapaksa in presidential elections of January 2010.
Soundly beaten
"What the country needs is democracy, rule of law, personal freedoms and media freedom," Gen Fonseka told parliament.
His leftist Democratic National Alliance (DNA) party won seven seats in the elections of 8 April.
The assembly is dominated by the United People's Freedom Alliance led by the president.
Mr Rajapaksa's coalition is just short of the two-thirds majority required for the government to rewrite the constitution, which debars the president from standing again when his second term ends in 2016.
Gen Fonseka - who won his parliamentary seat while in detention - has been allowed to attend the opening but will be returned to detention afterwards, government officials said.
His court martial, on charges of allegedly engaging in politics while in uniform and involvement in corrupt arms procurement, was adjourned on Tuesday for two weeks.
The general denies all the accusations, saying they are a politically motivated attempt to silence him.
The main opposition United National Party was soundly beaten in the parliamentary elections, winning just 60 seats, while the main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, came third with 14.
On Wednesday, President Rajapaksa appointed DM Jayaratne, a former teacher in his 70s, as prime minister.
Mr Rajapaksa is working out who will be in his new cabinet.
Senior Sri Lankan politician Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne was sworn in here as the 20th prime minister Wednesday evening before President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Known also as Dimu, Jayaratne is a veteran in Sri Lankan politics.
A man from Gampola in the rural heartland in Central Province, the 79 year-old is a favourite among the majority Sinhala community rural folk.
Being the oldest person ever to win the island's premiership, the long wait has been rewarding for the ever smiling and unassuming grassroots politician.
The premiership was just reward for his sticking with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) through and through -- its best and the worst times.
He became a member of the SLFP on its founding day of Sept. 2, 1951. So no living rivals to his seniority in the party.
He stood with the party during its difficult days in the opposition between 1977 and 1994.
Internal squabbling among party factions saw most of its seniors leaving the party to either form other parties or to join the rival United National Party (UNP).
Jayaratne never left the party and carried its flag almost single handedly in Central Province.
His first entry to parliament was in May 1970 in the SLFP's landslide win.
Jayaratne was a government backbencher until 1977 when the SLFP was crushed in the rival UNP's landslide electoral win.
In 1993 Jayaratne having elected to parliament as an opposition frontliner in the election held in 1989, was made the general secretary of the broader opposition front -- People's Alliance (PA) .
The PA won the election in 1994 by ending the UNP's 17 year rule.
He was rewarded with the cabinet position of Agriculture and Lands.
Subsequently he held senior cabinet positions of Food, Posts and Telecommunications.
The father of two daughters and a son, Jayaratne is known for his Sinhala oratory.
His parliamentary speeches feature witty banter and off-the- cuff remarks which take his opponents off-guard.
A simple rural politician, Jayaratne champions the cause of the downtrodden masses.
0 comments:
Post a Comment